quotes

**dzcook** · 27th August 2004, 11:26 PM

can anyone tell how much u should believe a quote when given one ?

just had a disagreement with electrican over his account
came saw me gave a written quote for moving and replaceing wiring ( no power pionts etc as was reusing ones that where there )
was for xx amount said fine go ahead
put in wiring etc sent bill for less than xx amount , paid it

2 wks later got him back when walls where in place to finish job ie put sockets back etc add two new cailing fans ( to replace old ones ,so wiring was in place ) and two new fluros ( again wiring was done previous ) and also install tele lines
then sent me another bill for 3 times xx when i spat the dummy at that amount was told original quote was only for putting wires etc in place not for the rest off job which is what i thought i was getting

dont see how he could missquote when i told him, what i wanted and why he didnt say something when he first came i mean was he just going to leave the wires hanging out the walls to me thats only 1/2 the job

hmm i know havent any recousre against him but do feel p****d off about it and just need to have my little rant about it

have others been caught ? with other quotes ? and how much detail can u ask for in a quote and how binding are they ? or arent they worth the paper they are written on ?

thks
david

**RETIRED** · 28th August 2004, 08:07 AM

Was the quote itemised?

Did you explain or write down that you expected him to come back and fit off?

He probably only quoted on running the wires because he may have thought that was all that was required. Roughing in is the cheapest part of most jobs. Fitting off is the expensive bit.

I have just had an electrician in and he gave me 2 quotes, 1 for roughing in (because he knows I could fit it off) and 1 for doing the complete job which he ended up doing because I didn't have the time.

It pays to check.

**DarrylF** · 28th August 2004, 09:37 AM

In my experience it always pays to get complete detail in the quote, especially with someone who hasn't done much for you before. I will very often make sparkies go back 2 or 3 times are expand on the detail of the quote, and usually find they've forgotten something. They're generally just not that good at the detail.

Now I'm comfortable with the company I'm currently using at work I'm not so insistent on the detail. I know they're reasonable with variations, I know what they expect and they know what I expect. It was a bit of a painful process getting there though - and I have a lot more buying power at work than most of us have with home jobs.

For a job at home I get complete detail. I ask for it all to be spelled out.
Assuming it's spelled out on the quote, I hold them to it. Ultimately, it's your house and your money and you shouldn't pay the bill unless you're happy.

**gemi_babe** · 2nd September 2004, 12:12 AM

Dzcook just want to share something with you my plumber was telling me about quotes.

He was taken to court for $20. Yep $20! He quoted on a job and billed the lady an extra $20. She took him to small claims and won her case because she had the written quote.

How we came about this conversation, well I was having a winge because the tv guy who installed my antenna quoted me $250 over the phone and recieved the invoice for $340. An extra $90! Yeah I'm pretty mad about it and haven't paid the extra $90 until they either call or put it in writting that I am late on the balance - cause you know, my memory isn't the greatest these days.

So my suggestion to you, if the quote states the job in reasonable detail... it would only have to say, wire and fit out for x amount, then only pay what the quote says, or pay the balance of the quote and if he wants to take it to small claims, let him. You have the written proof and that is a legal binding contract.

Fingers crossed....

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